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Foundational Lesson 2
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After an excellent start with pencil, this is where we introduce a pen!
I'd strongly encourage you to have a try with a dip pen, because a) it's the better tool b) if things go wrong and it won't write, I can help you But there's always the option to use a calligraphy fountain pen (such as a Pilot Parallel pen) or a calligraphy felt tip (such as a Zig calligraphy pen) if the frustration gets too much! Have a play! When using any new tool it's imporantant to have a play with it - fill a page or two just making marks and patterns - swirls, straight lines, thin lines, fat lines - anything. Notice what the pen likes to do, and what it objects too. Your aim is to enjoy using the pen, and to feel like you are in control of it, rather than vice versa! Once you have had a really good play with the pen, we're ready to think about the pen for the Foundational hand (the one we're learning!) It's very important to notice how the pen behaves on the paper. Any combination of ink/paper which causes the ink to bleed in to the paper is no good. We don't want to learn all those beautiful shapes, only for those shapes to be distorted by the bleeding ink. I tend to find that photocopy paper bleeds but if you switch to a cartridge paper it should not. For this lesson you will need: |
Advice on equipment
It's easy to think you're going to need lots of new equipment - but really you don't. Click here for tips on equipment for edged pen calligraphy.... Equipment advice And please ask.... I'm an experienced calligraphy shopper! |
The shape of the pen will sort out putting the thick and thin strokes in the right place for you, provided you hold it correctly.
First of all - think about the contact between the pen and the paper. The whole of the thick edge of the pen should be in contact with the paper for all strokes, and the "touch" should be equal on the two corners of the pen (i.e. don't favour one corner or the other).
There should be NO NEED TO PRESS the pen on the paper - forget the feel of using a biro, and think about the end of the pen as if it were a brush, gently depositing a beautiful line of ink for you.
Here's something important : if your ink is not flowing, pressing harder on the pen will only make it worse.
Secondly, the angle of the pen. For Foundational hand, the pen angle is 30 degrees (always, always, unless I tell you otherwise!)
This means that the thick edge of the pen lies on a line that is 30 degrees to the horizontal, or to put it another way, lies on the line that connects the 2 and the 8 on a clock face.
First of all - think about the contact between the pen and the paper. The whole of the thick edge of the pen should be in contact with the paper for all strokes, and the "touch" should be equal on the two corners of the pen (i.e. don't favour one corner or the other).
There should be NO NEED TO PRESS the pen on the paper - forget the feel of using a biro, and think about the end of the pen as if it were a brush, gently depositing a beautiful line of ink for you.
Here's something important : if your ink is not flowing, pressing harder on the pen will only make it worse.
Secondly, the angle of the pen. For Foundational hand, the pen angle is 30 degrees (always, always, unless I tell you otherwise!)
This means that the thick edge of the pen lies on a line that is 30 degrees to the horizontal, or to put it another way, lies on the line that connects the 2 and the 8 on a clock face.
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Let's just have a play with some other pen angles though. Try recreating the following crosses - they have pen angles of 0, 90, 45 and 30 degrees. |
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Note than when the pen angle is 45 degrees, the downstroke and the cross stroke should be the same thickness. And when the pen angle is 30 degrees, the downstroke should be twice as thick as the across stroke.
Now your first letter with a pen : the o.
To form the o, the pen angle needs to be 30 degrees, and each corner of the pen needs to form a perfect circle. Good news is that you need only worry about one corner of the pen - I suggest the left hand corner - and the right hand corner will copy what the left hand corner does.
The first diagram represents the path of each corner of the pen, with the second diagram showing how you can see it becoming the letter. (Look for that telltale lemon shape in the middle of the o).
Now your first letter with a pen : the o.
To form the o, the pen angle needs to be 30 degrees, and each corner of the pen needs to form a perfect circle. Good news is that you need only worry about one corner of the pen - I suggest the left hand corner - and the right hand corner will copy what the left hand corner does.
The first diagram represents the path of each corner of the pen, with the second diagram showing how you can see it becoming the letter. (Look for that telltale lemon shape in the middle of the o).
The third diagram is the completed pen o : but note that it is formed in 2 strokes - the left hand half of the circle (from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock on the clock face, anti clockwise) and the right hand half (11 to 5 o'clock, going clockwise).
Here's a video showing the o being created:
Here's a video showing the o being created:
Now it's your turn!
This shape is really important, so I want you to have a play just with Os.
In the video I have a baseline and a top line. For now, I'd like you to just rule a baseline and judge by eye how tall the O needs to be.
If it's looking too spidery, it's too tall. If it looks heavy, it's too short.
When you've completed a sheetful, pick a few that you think are really good. Now pick a few that weren't so good - and work out why.
The more you can spot the GOOD and the BAD in your lettering, the quicker you will progress.
This shape is really important, so I want you to have a play just with Os.
In the video I have a baseline and a top line. For now, I'd like you to just rule a baseline and judge by eye how tall the O needs to be.
If it's looking too spidery, it's too tall. If it looks heavy, it's too short.
When you've completed a sheetful, pick a few that you think are really good. Now pick a few that weren't so good - and work out why.
The more you can spot the GOOD and the BAD in your lettering, the quicker you will progress.
Don't forget to have a break - you know you don't have to do all the lesson in one go.
Have a rest, and think about the fact that you've written your first calligraphic word with a pen. (Yes, the word was "oooo" !)
How far apart should I rule my lines?
One of the important aspects of making our letters look right, is ruling the lines the right distance apart.
The distance apart depends on the size of nib being used, so instead of describing the distance in inches or millimetres, it is described in numbers of nib widths.
For Foundational hand we are going to write with lines that are 4 nib widths apart.
I’d like you to use one of the following nibs if you have one:
William Mitchell 2 or Manuscript 2 or Brause 2 or Tape 2 (Lines will be 8mm apart)
William Mitchell 1 or Manuscript 1 or Brause 3 or Tape 3 (Lines will be 12mm apart)
Pilot parallel 3.6 (Lines will be 14mm apart)
If you’ve a different nib you want to use, you’ll need to measure its width and multiply by 4.
You need to rule up pairs of lines as you did in lesson 2, but this time the X height is the measurement in brackets next to your nib.
As before, we’ll be leaving twice the x height between pairs of lines, so if you’re using a William Mitchell 2, you’ll rule 2 lines 8mm apart, then a gap of 16mm, then 2 more lines 8mm apart etc.
It feels a bit complicated, but you soon get used to it - and if you're not sure what you're doing - ask!
We’ll come back to hints and tips for ruling up – for now we want to get those lines ruled and get lettering!
One of the important aspects of making our letters look right, is ruling the lines the right distance apart.
The distance apart depends on the size of nib being used, so instead of describing the distance in inches or millimetres, it is described in numbers of nib widths.
For Foundational hand we are going to write with lines that are 4 nib widths apart.
I’d like you to use one of the following nibs if you have one:
William Mitchell 2 or Manuscript 2 or Brause 2 or Tape 2 (Lines will be 8mm apart)
William Mitchell 1 or Manuscript 1 or Brause 3 or Tape 3 (Lines will be 12mm apart)
Pilot parallel 3.6 (Lines will be 14mm apart)
If you’ve a different nib you want to use, you’ll need to measure its width and multiply by 4.
You need to rule up pairs of lines as you did in lesson 2, but this time the X height is the measurement in brackets next to your nib.
As before, we’ll be leaving twice the x height between pairs of lines, so if you’re using a William Mitchell 2, you’ll rule 2 lines 8mm apart, then a gap of 16mm, then 2 more lines 8mm apart etc.
It feels a bit complicated, but you soon get used to it - and if you're not sure what you're doing - ask!
We’ll come back to hints and tips for ruling up – for now we want to get those lines ruled and get lettering!
The O family
As we’ve already seen, we learn the letters in families, to make it easier to see the same shapes re-occuring.
(This means that if you can do a letter O, you're on the way to being able to write it's nearest relatives quite easily.
The first family is that based on the o:
As we’ve already seen, we learn the letters in families, to make it easier to see the same shapes re-occuring.
(This means that if you can do a letter O, you're on the way to being able to write it's nearest relatives quite easily.
The first family is that based on the o:
Here's a video showing them being constructed:
Lots to have a go at there.
Definitely practice each letter in turn, but don't become obsessed with any one letter! Let me introduce my Rule of Five.
The Rule of Five says that you should avoid writing the same letter more than 5 times in a row - it's much more likely to lead to frustration than improvement!
Try another letter for a while then come back to the one that's troubling you. Even better, try and think of words that use the letters you are practicing.
Assignment
On a clean sheet of paper, rule some light pencil lines at 4 nib widths, and write ocebdpq.
Now write as many words as you can think of using only those seven letters. The longest word I've thought of has six letters - can you do better?
Photograph that sheet and send it in, along with anything that will help me understand what you're finding easy / difficult.
Definitely practice each letter in turn, but don't become obsessed with any one letter! Let me introduce my Rule of Five.
The Rule of Five says that you should avoid writing the same letter more than 5 times in a row - it's much more likely to lead to frustration than improvement!
Try another letter for a while then come back to the one that's troubling you. Even better, try and think of words that use the letters you are practicing.
Assignment
On a clean sheet of paper, rule some light pencil lines at 4 nib widths, and write ocebdpq.
Now write as many words as you can think of using only those seven letters. The longest word I've thought of has six letters - can you do better?
Photograph that sheet and send it in, along with anything that will help me understand what you're finding easy / difficult.
